This invention relates to popcorn machines, using heated air to cook the popcorn, and more particularly to a popcorn machine which uses a system of baffles in a continuous conduit to control the movement of both the cooked and uncooked kernels and to control the velocity of the heated air.
The prior art reveals a variety of popcorn vending machines which use heated air to effectuate cooking of the popcorn. Prior art devices are shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 904,186 and 2,922,355. By way of example is U.S. Pat. No. 2,922,355 in which a corn popping apparatus is described. This device comprises a series of end to end tubular sections having larger diameters in the upward direction in which the popcorn is cooked. By varying the diameters of the different tubular sections the velocity of the hot air is controlled to both suspend the uncooked kernels in the lower section and allow the cooked kernels to be transported to a receiving area. However, this device uses only the diameters of the different tubes to control the velocity of the hot air.
The present invention employs a system of baffles within the various chambers of the continuous conduit to control both the direction and velocity of the heated air and the movement of the cooked and uncooked kernels in the prescribed portions of the conduit. The electrical control system combined with the mechanical structure provide a versatile popcorn popping and vending machine.